Thanks to a partnership between the NFL's San Francisco 49ers and Optum Pro Cycling, 49 Bay Area homeless and at-risk kids have brand new bicycles to call their own.

The football players and cyclists chipped in to build the bikes earlier this week. The next day 49ers' mascot Sourdough Sam helped unveil the shiny new rides to the group of momentarily stunned kids, who had been told they were going to a Santa Clara park to take part in the NFL's Play 60 exercise campaign. The shock wore off quickly, however, as the proud new bike owners picked out their favorite color, received a helmet, and then headed off to a short safety course to practice stopping and signaling for turns. Some children were getting on a bike for the very first time.

A group called Turning Wheels for Kids, which has built and distributed more than 21,000 bikes to under-served children, facilitated the event. The group connected with the children through EHC LifeBuilders, which provides support and advocacy for homeless people and families in the Silicon Valley. Santa Clara County has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the nation, according to the San Jose Mercury News. That's what led Optum Specialty Networks CEO Andy Sekel to the bike build on Monday.

“The end goal is, one, to provide bicycles to kids who wouldn't normally have them,” Sekel said while working on a green BMX bike. “Second, and the most important message, is for kids to realize a large group of adults spent part of their time building these bikes. You could buy them and give them to the kids, but I think the real message is that there are adults out there who care about you and want you to do well and are willing to take some of their time and contribute to that.”

The 49ers hosted the first day of the Optum-sponsored event at the team's headquarters in Santa Clara, where the football players and cyclists eagerly twisted wrenches alongside trained mechanics and volunteers.

Three-time All-Pro wide receiver Anquan Boldin brought his oldest son, AJ, along to build a bike, saying that as a father of two boys he had plenty of wrenching experience he could to put to good use. “We always love to see kids with a smile on their faces,” he said. “And I think bikes are one of the things that puts a smile on their face. So it's cool.”

Anquan and AJ Boldin (Courtesy Optum Pro Cycling)

Colt McCoy, the 49ers’ backup quarterback and 2008 Heisman Trophy runner-up, also said he didn't have much experience with bike building, but he got a lot of help from the volunteer mechanics, along with US criterium champion Eric Young and Canadian crit champ Leah Kirchmann.

“I thought it went great,” McCoy said. “I had great guys around me helping to put all the pieces together, so it was a lot of fun. And it helps knowing that it's going to kids who will really appreciate them. I know I appreciated my first bike as a kid that I got for Christmas when I was young, so hopefully some kid will have that same feeling as I did.”

Rookie offensive tackle Luke Marquardt, possibly the largest human being to ever build a bike, worked with Optum rider Tom Soladay. Marquardt said the team takes part in many charity events throughout the year, and he likes to help out when he can.

“You have this stage, and it's important to give back,” he said. “I've come from humble beginnings, and I'm glad to give back to those who need it. And I think that's why we're here, you know.”

The day before the bike build, the 49ers lost by one point to the Carolina Panthers. It was a tough loss for the team that had won the NFC championship and gone to the Super Bowl the year before, but the disappointment seemed to disappear once they started helping out.

“The cool thing about the football players is that these guys put out an incredible amount of energy yesterday in a very tough game,” Sekel said. “And then they show up today to do this. And it's just such a lovely message.”

Cindy Zbin, chief development officer at EHC Lifebuilders, understands that message perfectly. Children with homeless parents often have nothing, she said. They have bounced around from living in vehicles or on couches or even on the all-night bus, which is sometimes referred to “Hotel 22” for the number of the transit route the bus runs on.

“Oftentimes when they do get into some of our transitional housing they have nothing with them, so a new bicycle is something that is an incredible opportunity and a bit of hope for these children,” Zbin said. “My children take it for granted to have a new bike. To these kids, this is something that is just an incredible beacon of hope for them. They can go to school tomorrow and tell their friends that they got a new bike. They can be normal, and for kids who don't have a place to sleep or don't know where they are going to sleep tomorrow, it's just being normal.”

Long after the bikes had been given out and the sun began to set over the park in Santa Clara, the energy from the 49 normal, happy kids still buzzing around on their new bikes seemed to push back the darkness just a little bit longer.